My Standard Responses…

People who know nothing about it ask some questions that I’ve often become bored of answering.

My standard snarky response these days don’t normally happen in real life. Mostly I bite my tongue and think these things to myself 🙂

Noob asks me: “Don’t you worry about socialisation?”

I say: “Why should we?”

Then I become either snarky: “do adults spend most of their working or social hours in the same room as people the same age as them?”

Or I could say it in a nicer way: “well, actually, a room full of kids of the same age at school is really not a naturally healthy environment. It brings out a lot anti-social behaviour – like fierce competition and bullying. It can also bring out many feelings of feeling either too superior or too inferior. Or too powerful, or not empowered enough.”

Noob asks me: “What about qualifications?”

I say: “What about them?”

Then I become snarky: “Really, it’s not my decision. My kids are empowered to make the best decisions, we will help and guide them along the way. They don’t really have to go through 12 years of school because fear of not having the right qualification. And actually, increasingly, qualification are quickly becoming obsolete. Next!”

Or I could say it in a nicer way: “There are many routes to gaining qualifications, school is just one of them. And actually, there is increasingly more research showing that many colleges, universities and employers are favouring home educated kids because of their self drive, dedication and determination to get learn. I just don’t see the need for our kids to have to go to school for 12 years out of fear of missing out on a qualification.”

Noob asks me: “Do you teach them all the subjects in the curriculum?”

I say: “Why would I do that?”

Then I become snarky: “Seriously? Kids really don’t want to be taught that stuff, most of the time. I trust my kids to tell me what they need, and I help them get there, if they need help.”

Or I could say it in a nicer way: “To be honest, we all find the curriculum really boring and irrelevant. So we focus on what we want to learn. They know so much more than me on so many topics, I honestly can’t keep up with them. Learning is not about transferring knowledge, it’s about empowering the students. My kids are empowered!”

I’m sure there are many more questions I could answer, feel free to propose some in the comments below!